Sycorax Invasion
by Benjamin J Brown
Summary: AU. Sequel to "Zero Hour". The newly regenerated twelth Doctor takes Amy home for a visit only to have it invaded by Sycorax and find who they consider public enemy number one; him! Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or related articles.
1. Cravats are cool

The Doctor stood by the TARDIS controls, facing Amy. She obviously hadn't been expecting his regeneration. He grinned again.

"Hello, Amelia, are you still alive?" He said "Yes? No? Maybe? Because, you know, I'd hate to have died to bring you back just to have you die right away."

"Can you change back to how you were before?" She asked, breaking her silence.

"No, not really." He replied "But this is good, change is good. So, tell me, how do I look?"

"Younger." She said "Shorter hair, more average size features, better looking."

She covered her mouth. She hadn't meant to say the last bit. He seemed not to care particularly.

"Better looking? Oh, that's good then, isn't it?" He said "Now, am I ginger?"

"No, you're a kind of dirty blonde." She said "Suits you."

"Really?" He said, a slightly bitter smile on his lips "Thank you Amelia."

"Doctor…" She said "Can you please stop calling me Amelia?"

"Oh, right, yes." He said "Sorry. Now, where to next?"

"What?" She said, gobsmacked.

He'd just gone and changed and now he wanted to get back on the road, so to speak. He was still wearing the tweed jacket, red checked shirt, red bowtie, red braces, black trousers and boots he'd been wearing before. She noticed the trouser legs looked about an inch or two too short now.

"Maybe you ought to get changed first." She said, nodding to the trouser legs.

"Oh, right, yes, very good eye. Thank you Amelia." He said before darting up the spiral staircase out of the control room and into the wardrobe.

Amy sighed as she made her way out of the control room and into the nearby kitchen, making herself a cup of tea. She had just taken a sip when he came back into the room. She spat out the tea in her mouth when she saw what he was wearing.

He'd put on black trousers, the same as before, with a silvery blue shirt, red converse and a gold cravat. To top it all off, he was wearing an unbuttoned, early eighteenth century gentleman's jacket in red with a gold trim. It was the same outfit he'd had on in her dream.

"Well?" He said expectantly with a grin "How do I look?"

"Like you should be in a movie with Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller." She said "What's prompted the Casanova look?"

"I like it." He said, slightly defensively "Kind of timeless."

"Will you at least rethink the cravat?" She asked hopefully.

"No way." He replied, adjusting the cravat "Cravats are cool."

She rolled her eyes. She had thought he was just a little more eccentric. Now she realised that he was bonkers. She watched as he began to move over to the TARDIS console. He'd just about reached it when he collapsed onto the floor with a cry of pain, his face on of anguish.

"Doctor?" She said, running over to him, still holding her cup "Doctor, are you okay?"

"Not exactly." He said, clutching his chest "It's like when we first met; I'm still cooking, I'm not done yet. I'm still regenerating."

"Is there anything I can do?" She said "There's got to be something I can do to help."

"Yeah." He said, taking the cup from her and downing the hot liquid in one and sticking his tongue out, fanning it with his hands "Oww ooh ah, hot, hot, hot!"

A second later, he jumped back up, narrowly missing hitting his head on the console. He grinned at her.

"All better." He said as he began playing with the controls, the engines beginning to roar "So, where to then Amelia? The star crossed nebulas of Ralificorn Prime? The lilac banana fields of Mutaris five? The battle of Trafalgar, we could meet Nelson, that'd be fun. It's your choice, any where, any when, the only rule; it has to be spectacular! So then, Amelia Pond, where to?"

"Uhm…" Amy said, confused as to what she was meant to say "How about back to mine?"

"Amelia Pond, are you coming onto me?" He said, looking at her seriously, apparently not sure how to react.

"What? No, no way." She said "Younger guys, not my thing."

"You realise I'm 907, right?" He said, getting a glare from her in response "Oh, right, yes, not helping, sorry."

"I meant I want to go home for a visit." She said "Though maybe you should wait here."

"No way." He said as he played around with the controls of the TARDIS "I can have fun in your time, not a huge amount mind you but fun none the less. Oh god, that sounded rude. I wasn't trying to be rude, just pointing out a fact."

He sounded so _posh!_ She hated the sort of voice all those posh people had, the kind of almost put on voice that people often used for period dramas. Apparently, he had that voice too.

"Fine." She said "But what are we going to do about my brother? Somehow, I doubt he'll believe you're the same guy he met before."

"Yes, true, and quite rightly so. That outfit was horrible, what was I thinking, bowties are horrible, and don't get me started on the tweed jacket!" He said "No, we'll just say I'm, uh, your brother?"

"That's him, you dunce!" She said, going to slap him round the back of the head with him narrowly avoiding it "We'll tell him you're a friend from work, one of the trainees."

"One of the _trainees?_" He said as the engines stopped roaring "I so don't look young enough to be a trainee!"

"You really do." She said "Now, we just need a name for you…"

"Okay, that's easy." He said as he walked out the TARDIS, calling back "I'm the Doctor."


	2. I'm the same man you met

Amy knocked on her brother's front door. Richard opened it. Amy was about to say something when the Doctor cut her off.

"Hello Richard, remember me?" He said, seeing the man's gobsmacked face "Oh, right, of course, why would you. I'm the Doctor, hello."

"Hi…" Richard said "Amy, who is this guy?"

"It's a long story." Amy said, not bothering with changing facts now the Doctor had opened his mouth "Long story short, you remember John? Well, that's him."

"What?" No." Richard said "Oh, wait, do you mean it's his brother? Yeah, that makes sense."

"No, I'm not his brother, I'm him." The Doctor said as he walked past Richard and stepped into the kitchen, tossing back "Hello."

"What do you mean you're him?" Richard said, turning to Amy "What the hell is going on?"

"It's a long story." Amy said.

"Yes, and one I'd be happy to tell you." The Doctor said "After an apple and banana sandwich. Oh, and a coke zero with just a sprinkle of cocoa powder in it."

Richard looked at Amy for a moment before sighing and ushering her in and closing the front door, going to get the Doctor's sandwich and drink.

James came into the kitchen and sat down opposite the Doctor. As he did, his father put the plate with the sandwich and the drink down on the table.

"Who're you?" James asked.

"Who am I? I'm the Doctor." The Doctor replied, picking up one half of his sandwich and dipping it in the chocolaty coke then taking a bite, making both Richard and Amy cringe "I was John to you. Remember, funny hair, bow tie? Not as good looking, though, eight years old, probably don't notice, not yet."

"Oh yeah, you were weird." James said, apparently having no problem with believing it was the same man "You're funny now though."

"Funny, eh?" The Doctor said, dipping his sandwich then taking a bite again "Funny's cool."

"Anyway, you said you were going to explain what you meant when you said you're John." Richard said "So go on, out with it."

"Yeah, that'll take too long to explain." The Doctor said "So, how about I just tell you something only you and I know. When we met, we had a conversation in here. You told me the Amy has a bit of a soft spot for me, that she's tended to go for clever guys a lot over the last couple of years and I tried to, while making a bit of a fool of myself, to convince you of the fact that we're just friends, still stand by that by the way. Oh, and you asked if I was gay."

"Okay, how'd you know that?" Richard said "He has to have told you."

"Dad, it's him." James said "Look at him, it's him."

"No way." Richard said "This has to be a trick."

"No, Rick, it's him." Amy said, looking at the Doctor "Though I don't get why Jimmy got it right away."

"Because it's him!" James said.

"Exactly." The Doctor said, turning to face Amy and Richard "See, it's like this. Children always find it so much easier to believe in things. When they see Time Lords, that's what I am by the way Richard, a Time Lord, after regeneration, the thing I did a little while ago, that they met before, they just know we're the same person. It's in their guts, their instincts, because of that little spark that makes it easier for them to believe. Youth, brilliant."

Richard and James looked at him, gobsmacked by the length of the speech. Amy was confused by what he'd said, but not by how much. She was used to the Doctor rattling off long speeches.

Before anyone could say anything, the Doctor jumped up and darted out of the room, sticking his head back into the room to say "Come on."

Amy, Richard and James followed him into the living room. The Doctor pulled out a pair of wire frame glasses and put them on as he looked at the TV. On the screen was a humanoid figure in some kind of red robes. It was wearing some kind of animal skull on it's head as a helmet. It was speaking in some alien language.

"I trust you remember these guys." The Doctor said, not looking away from the TV "They invaded, four years ago. Remember, giant stone spaceship over London? Loads of people climbing up onto roofs ready to jump only not to?"

"Yeah…" Richard said "We were kind of with the ones jumping."

"Oh, well, good then." The Doctor said "If it weren't for me, you'd be enslaved right now. Blood control, that's what they were using. Like hypnotism, they threatened to make you all kill yourselves but couldn't. As I explained then, you can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis, but you can't hypnotise them to death."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Richard said "But if you know so much, what're they called?"

"Sycorax. They're called Sycoorax." The Doctor said "And you and James can't understand them but me and Amelia can. Amelia, come with me, Richard, Jimbo, wait here."

He walked out, Amy following him. Richard put his hand on her arm for a minute.

"Does your boyfriend know you're with this guy?" He asked.

"No, and you're not going to tell him." She replied "You didn't have a problem with that with the old Doctor, you won't with this one."

"Well, with that kind of blind loyalty and disregard for your relationship, you might want to question how much you actually care about your boyfriend." He said "Now, I'll see you later Amy."

"Yeah." Amy said, kissing James on the forehead before running out "See you later Jimmy."

"Bye Aunty Amy." James said, before looking at his father "Where're they going?"

"No idea." Richard replied "But I hope your aunt's going to be okay."

"Me too. And her friend." James said "I like him. He's funny."


	3. Do the smart thing

The Doctor ran all the way to the TARDIS, Amy struggling to keep up. He put his key in the door and opened it, pulling the key out and running to the console as Amy came in.

"Shut the door." He said "There might be a draft if you don't. I know this new coat would look great with a breeze, but I don't fancy finding out just yet."

Amy complied as he began playing with the controls. As he pulled a lever up he fell back into his chair, clutching his chest.

"No, not now." He said "It can't kick in like this now."

"Doctor?" She said, running over to him "What is it you need?"

"Coffee, black, four sugars." He said as he pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket, changed the setting and handed it to her "And a twist of lemon zest. Use the sonic to heat it up, just point and click."

"Okay." Amy said, running out to the kitchen and mixing the drink, pointing the screwdriver at it and clicking the button, heating the liquid before running back to the Doctor "Here, drink it."

She poured the liquid in his mouth. He jumped up and started fanning his tongue with his hands.

"Oh god, not again. _Way_ too hot!" He said "Still, coffee with lemon, not bad."

He moved over to the monitor and pressed some controls before the image of a rocky interior came up. A number of the red clad humanoids with the skull helmets were inside and a pair looked at the monitor.

"This is the Doctor to the Sycorax invasion force." The Doctor said "I'm giving you an order now to leave this world under article 13, section three, paragraph four, sub section one of the Shadow Proclamation. This world is a level five planet, you can't just invade."

"This is not an invasion. It is a colonisation." The lead Sycorax said "And you shall leave now, Doctor, or we shall take the retribution that we are rightfully entitled to under Sycorax law."

"Colonisation? It's a _level five_ planet!" The Doctor said, ignoring the threat "You get one warning. Leave now, or I'll stop you."

He cut the communications feed. He'd said what he wanted to, he didn't feel the need to listen to their high and mighty rants. He pressed some buttons and flipped some switches and the TARDIS engines stopped. He sat down on the chair and crossed his left leg over his right.

"Doctor?" Amy said "What now?"

"Now?" He replied "We wait. For them to track the TARDIS and bring us to them. Why waste time tracking them when they'll just bring me to them anyway."

A moment later, the TARDIS began to shake. The Doctor waited for it to subside before grinning and jumping up out of the chair, running out the doors. Amy followed him carefully, not sure whether this was a good idea or not.

"Right, yes, hello." The Doctor said to the Sycorax "First things first, what do you think gives you the right to colonise a level five planet? That's entirely prohibited by galactic law. Surely you know that?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He already knew it. The Sycorax didn't care. They'd claim ignorance and be let off with a stern warning. Galactic law and it's enforcement was just as corrupt as on planets like Earth, it was one of the few Galactic constants. Instead, he moved up to the Sycorax leader's face, removing the helmet to reveal a face with the muscle visible and looking it in the eye.

"Well, here's the better question; do you know what's invaded here before? Question, what's invaded, answer; Daleks, Cybermen, etcetera, but let's just focus on the first ones on that list. The Daleks." He said "What is the one thing, no, _who_ is the one thing they fear in the whole of creation."

He pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, pointing it at the viewer in a wall and clicking the button. On the monitor, there was a selection of clips come up. All of his previous selves came up on the monitor, but there was one he froze it on. His self they'd met in Nevada. He was wearing white pyjamas in the image, a solemn look on his face. The Doctor grinned as he saw the look on the Sycorax face and he finally let the last image, of his eleventh incarnation, show on the monitor before it faded to static.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor." He said "And I have some advice for you. Do the smart thing here. Run away now."

"Why would we?" The Sycorax leader said "I have the upper hand here, Doctor."

"The upper hand? In what universe do you have the upper hand?" The Doctor said "I've defeated you before and I was in my pyjamas. What do you think I can do now that I'm fully dressed?"

Before the Sycorax leader answered, the Doctor ran back into the TARDIS, grabbing Amy's hand and pulling her in with him. He grinned at her.

"Well, this is going to be fun, isn't it?" He said as he pulled a lever, starting up the engines.


	4. Have a Jelly Baby

The Doctor moved to the monitor hanging above the console. He pressed a few controls then looked at the monitor, the image of a man in a green military uniform coming up.

"Right, hello, I'm the Doctor, don't bother asking for the full story, still regenerating and quite frankly, there's no time for it." The Doctor said "Anyway, long story short, Sycorax invading, you know that bit by now probably. What I need you to do is jam their targeting sensors. Give me a moment, just need to think. Sycorax system base code, what is it…"

He ran his left hand through his hair before snapping his fingers and pressing some controls on the TARDIS control panel.

"Okay, Sycorax system base code, I've patched into their system, you'll have a string of numbers come up. Oscillate seven, nine and three. That'll get you into the system." The Doctor said "Are you in?"

"Yes sir." The man on the screen said "Awaiting further instructions."

"Hold on a moment." The Doctor replied, turning to Amy "Amelia, can I borrow your phone please?"

"Sure, I guess…" She said, handing him her Samsung Galaxy.

"Thank you." The Doctor said, turning back to the man on the screen "Upload it to an e-mail and send it to the e-mail you guys have on file for me."

"You've got e-mail?" Amy said, slightly surprised.

"Had to, got to have some way to be contacted." The Doctor said "And sorry, but your phone's going to be wrecked after this. I'll buy you a new one, promise."

"What?" Amy said "You're going to wreck my phone?"

"Yeah, sorry." The Doctor said, entering some commands then looking at the monitor "Okay, got the e-mail, thanks, bye."

He pressed some commands on Amy's phone and pulled up a file as the monitor went blank. He began entering some commands. Every time Amy tried looking over his shoulder, he'd turn away so she couldn't see what he was doing. He clicked send then opened the TARDIS doors, tossing the phone out into the time vortex.

"Sorry Amelia, they would've traced it and got us again." He said "So, go on, ask me what I did?"

"Other than throw my phone out the window you mean…" She said "Okay, what did you do?"

"I just uploaded two things into the Sycorax' system." He said "The first was a virus to wipe out all communications, weapons and teleport subroutines from their system."

"What was the second?" Amy said, not sure what else he'd want to do.

"A joke. Got to give them something." The Doctor said as he withdrew a paper bag from his pocket "Jelly baby?"

"Okay…" Amy said, slightly confused as she took the red sweet and ate it "What now?"

"Now?" He replied, before grinning "Now we give them some jelly babies."

He pulled a lever and the TARDIS landed. He stepped outside, straightening his jacket and looking around as he did. He licked his finger and stuck it in the air before turning to his left and running off down the corridor they'd landed in.

Amy caught up with him a moment later. They were by what looked like some star trek reactor core. The Doctor grinned at her.

"See, the thing about Sycorax ships is they us Kerpton particle based fuel in their reactors. There's one thing about those particles that's a problem, anyone know what? Anyone? Just me, oh well." He said "It reacts very badly with glucose AKA sugar. Catastrophic reaction, actually, within 2 minutes, it explodes. And what is sugar a key ingredient in? Come on Amelia, you know this, you just ate one a minute ago."

"Jelly babies." She said "So, what, you're going to make the reactor eat a jelly baby?"

"No, I'm going to make it eat a whole bag of them." He said, opening the hatch on the outside of the reactor and tossing the white bag inside, closing the door then grinning at her "Rightio. Come along, Pond!"

He darted out of the room, Amy running and staying just one step behind him. As they approached the TARDIS, he snapped his fingers, the doors swinging open. As she caught up properly and got inside, he slammed the doors behind her before darting to the console and playing with it. He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the monitor and pressed the button, the image of the Sycorax leader appearing on it.

"Right, here's the deal; get to your shuttles or escape pods or whatever. I'll tow you all home." The Doctor said, his face cool and collected "Either that or you stay onboard and die as your fuel blows up, courtesy of a bag of jelly babies. You Sycorax do like losing because of foods, don't you?"

"We will not flee, Doctor." The Sycorax leader said "We shall instead tell you this; we were sent here by someone else. We are but mercenaries in this case, working for someone of far greater power. He has returned from his kingdom to seek his revenge on you. Good bye, Doctor."

Before the Doctor could ask about the Sycorax leader's statement, the screen went blank. The Doctor leant back against the chair next to the monitor before clutching his chest and collapsing. Amy darted to him to check on him, only for him to look up at her and laugh.

"Wow Amelia, you are way too easy to fool." He said with a grin as he got up and began playing with the controls "So, where to? You know the rules; any where, any when, has to be amazing. Just because I change doesn't mean the rules do, eh?"

"Okay." She said "I just need to post a letter to someone first. If I give you an estate name, can you set the TARDIS down there?"

"Can I set the TARDIS down there." The Doctor scoffed "Of course I can. Allons-y!


	5. I'll be back for that

Dear Rory,

I'm sorry, but I'm going away for a while. I met this guy, this brilliant guy. A man who's been so many places and still finds awe in every little thing. A man who can change, and you have no idea how much of a change it is. I've been travelling with him for a little while and we're about to hit the road again.

I wish we could take you with us, but we can't. I don't think he'd like me just bringing you along without asking. It's his ride, you see. The point is, I'll be back, and if you're still here, great, if not, well, have a nice life.

Love,

Amy

xxx

P.S. Go to Rick's to pick up your stuff if I'm not back in a couple of weeks.

Amy put the pen down and pulled out the envelope. She quickly scrawled Rory's name on the front of it before slipping the letter inside. She went back into the control room where the Doctor was leant against one of the spiral staircases, watching the central column moving as the TARDIS' engines did their job. He looked over at her and grinned.

"Right, so, one stop then we can get a move on, yeah?" He said "I'm getting kind of bored."

"Oh, so I'm boring you now am I?" She said "Look, Doctor, I don't know now."

"Oh, I don't know some things right now, new face, new me, new everything really." He replied, still grinning "Trust me Amelia, you'll get used to it, it's just a learning curve is all."

"No, Doctor, I mean about this." She said "The whole travelling around with you thing."

"Oh." He said, the grin fading "Well, it's your choice really."

"Well, I've been thinking, maybe it'd be better if I got out now, before I get in too deep." She said "Before it's too late for me to go back."

"Yeah, I suppose so." He replied, before sighing "Well, I guess it comes down to one thing; who do you want to be? Do you want to be Amy Pond, the girl who went back to her normal life. Or, do you want to be Amy Pond, the girl who went and saw what's out there? It's your choice, Amy."

"Given up on calling me Amelia then." She said, smiling lightly at him.

"No, just thought you'd take the decision more seriously if you weren't annoyed at me." He said as he played with some controls and the engines stopped "Tell you what; the TARDIS will be back in five minutes. If you want to come then, great, if not, well, still great I suppose."

"Oh no you don't." She said "You're coming with me. I'm not having you just ditch me."

He turned around and looked at her sceptically before his face broke into a gobsmacked look.

"You want me to come with you?" He said "To see your boyfriend? That sounds a bit domestic to me."

"Yeah, I guess it is." She said "But you're not taking my choice away from me, Doctor."

"Tell you what, here's a compromise." He said, pulling the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and tossing it to her "I'll be back for that. Just be here in two hours."

She looked at it for a moment before sticking it in her inside pocket. She turned and walked towards the doors. She got there before turning back and running up to him, hugging him. He stood there awkwardly for a moment before returning the hug. After a moment, he let her go and she walked back to the door.

"See you in a couple of hours." She said, getting a two fingered salute from him before she walked out.

He turned back to the console, beginning to play with the controls. He stopped for a moment before reaching a hand out to a cylindrical hole. From it, a silver and beige cylindrical device with a black end and a blue light at the other end came out. He slid up the switch, the end with the light coming out on a clear tube with a black cylinder in the middle. He pointed it at the central column, clicking the button by the switch, the blue light coming on with a hum. He stopped after half a second, pushing it closed again.

"Here I go again." He said to himself as he piloted the TARDIS through the vortex.


End file.
